Thursday, April 28, 2005

I just watched David Lynch's Lost Highway. Some people might try to tell you this is David Lynch's best movie. These people are, to put it plainly, retarded. They are the ones who don't understand that David Lynch is working with themes, and has a point. Lost Highway is a great David Lynch movie if all you see is weirdness, if you thought that Mulholland Drive was unintelligible but you say you enjoyed it anyway because it was just so Ca-Razy! No, all his movies make sense- I'm including Eraserhead when I say this, along with Mulholland Drive, and everything Twin Peaks associated. (Sidenote: Fire Walk With Me is fucking awesome, although it requires a knowledge of both seasons of the series. The series is pretty great, possibly the best show ever on TV, and the David Lynch directed episodes were the best of the series. I take it as part of the larger body of work, and it's one of the high points, despite the lack of some of what made the show great.) Lost Highway, not so much- I've read some stuff that seems to imply that even Lynch didn't know what he was doing. This isn't to say it's a terrible movie, it has some interesting moments, it's compelling and creepy. I can see why people would like it. But the people who like it more than any other Lynch film are not to be trusted. The narrative is largely nonsense, and the themes of identity are discussed far better in Mulholland Drive. Also, the soundtrack is shit- there's Rammstein on it, where there should be Angelo Badalamenti. Granted, I saw it on a piss-poor DVD- bad print, full-screen. It just looks ugly, which might not actually be the case. Still, in terms of narrative, it's not that strong. If anyone's written any analysis/explanation, I'd be interested in reading such a thing. Really, next time you talk to someone who says it's their favorite, ask them to explain it. They will probably get really offended by the idea, but I can explain what Mulholland Drive was about, and I can explain what happens in Eraserhead. They might think I'm lying or being pretentious when I say this, but no. David Lynch usually makes sense, and people who disagree with this thesis are assholes.

Before Lost Highway came out, David Foster Wallace wrote a great essay on David Lynch that's published in his book A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again. I recommend reading it next time you're in a book store. It should be located right next to the new Sarah Vowell book, Assassination Vacation, which looks awesome.